Asphalt is defined by ASTM as a dark brown to black cementitious material in which the predominating constituents are bitumens that occur in nature or are obtained in petroleum processing. Asphalts characteristically also contain very high molecular weight hydrocarbons called asphaltenes and are essentially soluble in carbon disulfide, and in aromatic and chlorinated hydrocarbons. Bitumen is a generic term defined by ASTM as a class of black or dark-colored (solid, semisolid, or viscous) cementitious substances, natural or manufactured, composed principally of high molecular weight hydrocarbons, of which asphalts, tars, pitches, and asphaltenes are typical. Oxidized bitumen is a generic term for a bitumen which has been oxidized. In Canadian and European practice, and by geologists and archaeologists in the United States, the terms "bitumen" or "asphaltic bitumen" are generally utilized as a synonym for asphalt. In typical commercial procedures, pitches are derived from tars which may be obtained from a destructive distillation of coal, crude oils, and other organic materials. Further details and information relating to bitumens, oxidized bitumens, and asphalts may be found in the published literature, for example in Kirk-Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology, Fourth Edition, Volume 3, pages 284 et seq. (John Wiley and Sons, New York, (1992)).
It is well known, and conventional, to include natural and synthetic rubbers and polymers as filler materials in asphalts or other bituminous materials to produce a class of materials often referred to as "rubber modified bitumens". As implied by its name, the major constituent of a rubber modified bitumen is bituminous. Generally the amount of rubber utilized in a rubber modified bitumen composition is 0.5% to 5%, by weight of the rubber modified bitumen composition.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,837,252 discloses a polymer modified asphalt composition formed by preparing a low asphalt masterbatch comprising 100 parts by weight of ethylene-propylene elastomer, 20 to 50 parts by weight of asphalt, and 10 to 100 parts by weight of a thermoplastic polyolefin. The low asphalt masterbatch may be combined with asphalt to produce a polymer modified asphalt composition which may further include fillers such as chalk, mica, lime, and carbon black in an amount of 10-30%, by weight of the final composition.
The technology of combining aromatic alcohols with aldehydes is also well known. Two sources of information are: "Phenolic Resins" written by A Knop and L A Pilato (Publisher: Springer--Verlag, 1985) also "The Chemistry of Phenolic Resins" written by R W Martin (Publisher: John Wiley, New York,; 1956). Whilst the previous books discuss predominantly linear and highly crosslinked phenolic resin technology, the book "Calixarenes" written by C D Gutsche (Publisher: Royal Society of Chemistry, 1989) reviews the technology of cyclic structures.
Polymer compositions are often utilized in so-called "industrial rubber applications". Industrial rubber applications include automotive and industrial hoses, belts, electrical cable insulation, automotive and industrial weatherstripping, profiles, molded parts, roof sheeting, and the like. Many articles for industrial rubber applications are produced through extrusion techniques, i.e., the polymer composition is extruded through a die, then cooled or chemically hardened.
Fillers are often utilized in polymer compositions to impart desirable characteristics such as reinforcement, pigmentation, and conductivity to the polymer compositions. Carbon blacks have been widely utilized as fillers and reinforcing pigments in the compounding and preparation of polymer compositions. Carbon blacks are generally characterized on the basis of their properties including, but not limited to, their surface areas, surface chemistry, aggregate sizes, and particle sizes. The properties of carbon blacks are analytically determined by tests known to the art, including cetyl-trimethyl ammonium bromide adsorption surface area (CTAB), iodine number (I.sub.2 No.), dibutyl phthalate adsorption (DBP), and dibutyl phthalate adsorption of the crushed carbon black (CDBP).
Carbon blacks produced by a furnace process generally have bulk densities ranging from 0.02 to 0.1 gram/cubic centimeter (g/cc) and are generally known as fluffy carbon blacks. Fluffy carbon blacks are generally easy to disperse in liquids, and in some polymeric systems. However, fluffy carbon blacks are generally cohesive and, hence, difficult to handle for purposes such as conveying and weighing.
It would be advantageous for use in many polymer systems to have a filler composition comprising a filler material, such as carbon black and a hydrocarbonaceous material, wherein the filler composition was easier to handle for purposes such as conveying, weighing, and processing than typical fluffy carbon blacks.
The physical properties of a polymer composition, including hardness, 100% modulus, elongation to break, energy-to-break, tear strength, electrical resistivity, and others, may be evaluated by tests known in the art. It is advantageous for polymer compositions intended for use in certain industrial rubber applications to have a combination of a high elongation at break property and energy-to-break property, together with a high electrical resistivity. For example, it is advantageous for automotive hoses, such as radiator hoses, to have a high elongation at break and/or energy-to-break property to decrease the tendency of the hose to tear during formation, in particular during mandrel extraction phase after curing. It is also advantageous for automotive hoses to have a level of compound electrical resistivity sufficient to minimize electrochemical degradation, and a tear strength sufficient to minimize tears during usage.
Generally an increase in the elongation at break property of a polymer composition will correspond to a decrease in the 100% modulus of the composition. This relationship between the elongation at break property and 100% modulus property of a polymer composition is often discussed in terms of an "(elongation at break).times.(100% modulus) factor". In heretofore conventional radiator hoses comprising peroxide cured EPDM compositions, the (elongation at break).times.(100% modulus) factor is generally 900-1000 MegaPascals percent, commonly abbreviated as MPa %. MPa, or MegaPascals refers to thousands of Pascals (1000.times.Pa).
Higher values of MPa % are generally advantageous, therefore it would be advantageous to have a polymer composition, suitable for use in industrial rubber applications having an (elongation at break).times.(100% modulus) factor above 1100 MPa %.
The elongation at break property of a polymer composition is often re-measured after the polymer composition has aged in oil at an elevated temperature. It would be advantageous to have a polymer composition, suitable for use in industrial rubber applications having an elongation in break after aging which is greater than 200%.
These and other advantages may be realized by the present invention. The present invention relates to compositions comprising a filler material, hydrocarbonaceous material and a polymer wherein the amount of polymer is greater, in terms of percent by weight, and the amount of hydrocarbonaceous material is less, in terms of percent by weight, than the corresponding amounts in a rubber modified bitumen composition. Thus, the compositions of the present invention, and the articles of manufacture comprising the compositions, are distinguishable from prior art rubber modified bitumens. As utilized herein "polymer" refers broadly to any natural rubber, synthetic rubber, elastomer, and/or blends or mixtures thereof.